In the age of mega-stores, discount chains and internet retailing, small local specialty stores find it very tough to survive. Fortunately some buck the trend, surviving by offering what the chains can't offer – personalized service.
Luckily for RCers in the Fairfield County CT area, Al's Hobbies in Norwalk CT is one of the survivors that specializes in RC products, featuring airplanes, helicopters, cars and boats. Jerry Jarvis acquired the name in 1969 "As a means to pay for my hobby" and has not looked back since, trading in an engineering career with NASA to turn his avocation into vocation.
Jerry started a company to design and build model plane kits; his MEN Trainer was a great success, selling over 25,000 kits, a model that was drop-dead easy to land ("turn off the engine and it lands itself"); production of this model stopped only five years ago and fans still ask for kits. Over time, the retail side grew such that today it occupies Jerry full time.
Jerry's sales philosophy is quite simple:
"Sell a product and you make one sale; Teach someone what to buy and why and you have a customer for life."
I'll attest that Jerry's clientele will patiently stand in line waiting for his personal touch. Jerry's long experience in the hobby is for many an invaluable resource.
Jerry "testing" a mini-helicopter – the proverbial "kid in a candy store"
Al's Hobbies is housed in a large space filled with quite an array of products:
The hanging planes are customer consignments – ever see that at a chain hobby store?
One feature that I especially like are the pull-out racks – these are large, sliding peg-boards filled with all the little goodies you all-of-a-sudden need to finish a project:
Here's one side of five racks of props:
Jerry stocks about 8,000 distinct items, ranging from the latest Spektrum DX7 to a rack full of small screws and bolts – a "full service" product line; every week Jerry adds about 5 new items to the list.
One other invaluable service for local RCers is repairs:
There are not too many hobby stores that provide this level of service.
The early days (when I started) were dominated by fuel planes – electrics were a small fringe element. In the past five years, the model mix has dramatically changed – where once sales were 10 fuel planes to 1 electric, the ratio has switched to something like 20 electric for each fuel – a seismic shift in the RC business.
In addition, the kit filled with little pieces of balsa and plywood cutouts has also shifted from 20 kits to 1 ARF five years ago to 20 ARFs to 1 kit.
The paradigm shift in the RC business has accelerated in the last two years due to declining electronic costs, more efficient electric motor technology and very good RTFs. With good RTF trainers in the $100 – $150 range, new entrants to RC flying are finding the initial cost reasonable.
CONCLUSIONS
I hope that there is still room for the specialized local hobby store – it can make the beginner's entry to this hobby a lot easier and can be a terrific resource for the experienced modeler; nothing can replace "touch and feel".
My Local Hobby Shop
The local hobby shop – a disappearing breed
In the age of mega-stores, discount chains and internet retailing, small local specialty stores find it very tough to survive. Fortunately some buck the trend, surviving by offering what the chains can't offer – personalized service.
Luckily for RCers in the Fairfield County CT area, Al's Hobbies in Norwalk CT is one of the survivors that specializes in RC products, featuring airplanes, helicopters, cars and boats. Jerry Jarvis acquired the name in 1969 "As a means to pay for my hobby" and has not looked back since, trading in an engineering career with NASA to turn his avocation into vocation.
Jerry started a company to design and build model plane kits; his MEN Trainer was a great success, selling over 25,000 kits, a model that was drop-dead easy to land ("turn off the engine and it lands itself"); production of this model stopped only five years ago and fans still ask for kits. Over time, the retail side grew such that today it occupies Jerry full time.
Jerry's sales philosophy is quite simple:
"Sell a product and you make one sale; Teach someone what to buy and why and you have a customer for life."
I'll attest that Jerry's clientele will patiently stand in line waiting for his personal touch. Jerry's long experience in the hobby is for many an invaluable resource.
Al's Hobbies is housed in a large space filled with quite an array of products:
The hanging planes are customer consignments – ever see that at a chain hobby store?
One feature that I especially like are the pull-out racks – these are large, sliding peg-boards filled with all the little goodies you all-of-a-sudden need to finish a project:
Here's one side of five racks of props:
Jerry stocks about 8,000 distinct items, ranging from the latest Spektrum DX7 to a rack full of small screws and bolts – a "full service" product line; every week Jerry adds about 5 new items to the list.
One other invaluable service for local RCers is repairs:
There are not too many hobby stores that provide this level of service.
The early days (when I started) were dominated by fuel planes – electrics were a small fringe element. In the past five years, the model mix has dramatically changed – where once sales were 10 fuel planes to 1 electric, the ratio has switched to something like 20 electric for each fuel – a seismic shift in the RC business.
In addition, the kit filled with little pieces of balsa and plywood cutouts has also shifted from 20 kits to 1 ARF five years ago to 20 ARFs to 1 kit.
The paradigm shift in the RC business has accelerated in the last two years due to declining electronic costs, more efficient electric motor technology and very good RTFs. With good RTF trainers in the $100 – $150 range, new entrants to RC flying are finding the initial cost reasonable.
I hope that there is still room for the specialized local hobby store – it can make the beginner's entry to this hobby a lot easier and can be a terrific resource for the experienced modeler; nothing can replace "touch and feel".